Sunday, February 16, 2014

Thai Pair Bow Out of AFC Quest

Beijing Guoan 4-0 Chonburi

Three goals in the first 18 minutes ended Chonburi's Asian adventure. With less than a minute on the clock, Chonburi were behind. Joffre Guerron got inbetween the indecisive Diakite and Korrakot before firing a shot past Sintaweechai.
Ten minutes later, the Ecuadorian got his second goal of the night. He expertly controlled a long pass with his first touch and with his second he unleashed a sublime shot past the keeper.
In the 18th minute it was game over when Peter Utaka lost his marker to head home a whipped in cross from the left.
At this point it appeared that it was going to be an absolute rout. Chonburi did limit the damage as the home side appeared to drop a couple of gears after their explosive start.
The closest the Sharks came to scoring was late on when a shot from substitute Bavorn struck the post.
In the last minute, a ball fired across goal was swept home by Shao Jiayi to complete the 4-0 scoreline.
Chonburi's miserable evening was complete in injury time when Thiago Cunha was harshly red carded for what looked like an accidental stamp on Zhang Xinxin. It was frustrating for the Chonburi supporters as the referee failed to punish two possible red card offences from Beijing Guoan in the second period.

Melbourne Victory 2-1 Muangthong Utd

An entertaining match was eventually won by Melbourne Victory as the Australian side came from behind to beat Muangthong United 2-1.
The home side had squandered a couple of chances before Muangthong took the lead in the 22nd minute. Mario Djurovski's curling corner somehow ended up in the back of the net as the Melbourne defence switched themselves off.
The game continued to ebb and flow and in first half stoppage time the hosts were awarded a penalty when Piyaphon bundled over Archie Thompson. Club captain Milligan was on spot kick duty but Vitsanusak made a smothering save to deny Victory an equalizer.
In the early stages of the second period, it was actually Muangthong who were looking more likely to score the next goal.
However, in the 58th minute, Victory levelled when a delightful cross from Galloway was headed home by Troisi.
The winning goal came seven minutes from time when a clearance landed at the feet of Broxham 25 yards out. His resultant shot deflected off Thitipan's head past the wrong footed Vitsanusak.
The match ended in an ugly fashion for the Thai side when Datsakorn was dismissed for headbutting Broxham.

Buriram United 1-1 Nagoya Grampus (Buriram won 4-3 on penalties)

Buriram added another trophy to their collection after they beat Nagoya Grampus 4-3 on penalties.
It ended 1-1 after 90 minutes so that meant spot kicks were required to separate the sides.
Jay Simpson headed home Anuwin's cross in the 16th minute but that was cancelled out by a sweet volley from Yusuke Muta in the 43rd minute.
In the shootout, Sivaruk saved twice before Altobelli struck the winning kick.
The victory meant Buriram lifted the Toyota Premier Cup for the second time.